Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify the general and special senses in humansDescribe three important steps in sensory perceptionExplain the concept of just-noticeable difference in sensory perception

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain in what way smell and taste stimuli differ from other sensory stimuliIdentify the five primary tastes that can be distinguished by humansExplain in anatomical terms why a dog’s sense of smell is more acute than a human’s

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the basic structure of a typical prokaryoteDescribe important differences in structure between Archaea and Bacteria

This course is a basic course on Instrumentation and Measurement. Firstly, the detection limit in a typical instrument for measurement of an electrical quantity is determined for: offset, finite common-mode rejection, noise and interference. The dominant source of uncertainty is identified and the equivalent input voltage/current sources are calculated. Secondly, the measurement of a non-electrical quantity is discussed. In this case the detection limit should be expressed in terms of the non-electrical input parameter of interest. Issues discussed are: (cross-)sensitivities in frequently used transduction effects, non-electrical source loading and noise in the non-electrical signal domain. Coupled domain formal modeling is subsequently introduced to facilitate analytical multi-domain system analysis. Finally, the detection limit in typical applications in the mechanical, thermal, optical and magnetic signal domain are analysed, along with circuit and system techniques to maximize overall system detectivity.

This course covers the fundamental driving forces for transport—chemical gradients, electrical interactions, and fluid flow—as applied to the biology and biophysics of molecules, cells, and tissues.

Psychology is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for the single-semester introduction to psychology course. The book offers a comprehensive treatment of core concepts, grounded in both classic studies and current and emerging research. The text also includes coverage of the DSM-5 in examinations of psychological disorders. Psychology incorporates discussions that reflect the diversity within the discipline, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities across the globe.Senior Contributing AuthorsRose M. Spielman, Formerly of Quinnipiac UniversityContributing AuthorsKathryn Dumper, Bainbridge State CollegeWilliam Jenkins, Mercer UniversityArlene Lacombe, Saint Joseph's UniversityMarilyn Lovett, Livingstone CollegeMarion Perlmutter, University of Michigan

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Distinguish between sensation and perceptionDescribe the concepts of absolute threshold and difference thresholdDiscuss the roles attention, motivation, and sensory adaptation play in perception